Proposed Research

A number of potentially toxic heavy metals are associated with
sewage effluent. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the short-
and long-term fates of metals introduced into the coastal environment
with treated sewage. We have been examining metal cycling at two
sites in Massachusetts Bay, in conjunction with scientists at the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) and the United States
Geological Survey (USGS). Data from USGS suggests that the resuspension
of surface sediments is an observable process, perhaps due to storm
events and normal wave action. The goal of this proposal is to determine
the affect of sediment resuspension on the accumulation of metals
in a coastal system and specifically, the importance to metal inventories
in Massachusetts Bay. We intend to construct a sediment resuspension
device that can fit onto a recovered core and can resuspend sediments
under controlled conditions. We can then sample the easily resuspended
material for heavy metals.

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